Questions & Replies: Cooperative Governance & Traditional Affairs

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2010-12-10

THIS FILE CONTAINS 25 REPLIES.

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QUESTION NO: 2288

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 23 OF 20 August 2010

Mr M A Nhanha (Cope) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether he has been informed of the shortage of water that has been plaguing Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape; if so, (a) what steps has he taken to ensure that (i) the township outside Grahamstown, (ii) the army base and (iii) the prison will have access to water and (b) who will be held accountable for this problem? NW2800E

Reply

No, the Minister had not been informed of water shortages in Grahamstown and hence there had been no initiative from DCOG to deal with the water crisis in the area.

However, the municipality has since reported that the water shortage is as a result of the drought situation that is being experienced by the Eastern Cape province generally and the town

In particular which has caused the water reserves to dry out, hence there are water challenges at the army base, prison and the township. To deal with this situation the municipality is engaging with the Department of Public Works who pledged to buy 10 000 L tanks for the prison and the army base. The municipality has also pledged to cart water to the affected areas using the fire fighting trucks which are not adequate for the extended responsibility. The Eastern Cape Province has received R86.8 million for drought relief of which a sum of R9.72 million will be going to Cacadu District Municipality as a short term intervention.

The Municipal Manager for Makana Local Municipality is responsible for ensuring that all areas under the jurisdiction of the Makana Local Municipality as a Water Services Authority has access to water by ensuring that there are skilled personnel and sufficient resources to ensure that potable water is being provided to the communities at all times.

QUESTION NO: 2253

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTiON PAPER NO 23 OF 20 August 2010

Mrs M Wenger (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether his department and/or any of its entities has purchased any 2010 Fifa World Cup Soccer tournament (a) clothing or (b) other specified paraphernalia; if not, what is the position in each case; if so, in each case, (i) what are (aa) the details and (bb) the total cost of the items purchased, (ii)(aa) how many items have been purchased and (bb) why, (iii)(aa) to whom has each of these items been allocated and (bb) why have these items been allocated to these persons and (iv)(aa) on what basis was the decision taken to purchase each of these items and (bb) on whose authority was the decision taken to make these purchases? NW2761 E

Reply

(a) No

b) other specified paraphernalia; if not, what has been the position in each case; if so, in each case,

(i) what are ,

(aa) the details and Flags, vuvuzela's

(bb) the total cost of the items purchased, R4230.95

(ii) (aa) how many items have been purchased and

(bb) why, Display purposes in the foyer of the Department and Ministerial offices

(iii) (aa) to whom has each of these items been allocated and (bb) why have these items been allocated to these persons, Personel with in department to celebrate opening of the World cup in the Department.

(iv) (aa) on what basis was the decision taken to purchase each of these items and (bb) on whose authority was the decision taken to make these purchases? Relevant Programme Managers (DG and Acting CFO)

QUESTION NO: 2221

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 23 OF 20 August 2010

2221. Mr W P Doman (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) Whether his department or any of its entities has (a) purchased

or (b) leased any buildings for administration (i) in the (aa) 2008-09 and (bb) 2009-10 and (ii) for the 2010-11 financial years; if not, why not; if so, in each case, (aaa) what is the cost of the building, (bbb) what is the size of the building, (eec) why was it bought or leased, (ddd) what will be its use, (eee) who will occupy it and (fff) approximately how many persons will occupy the total space of each building;

(2) whether his department and any of its entities intends purchasing or leasing any buildings for administration for the (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13 and (c) 2013-14 financial years; if not, why not; if so, in each case, (i) what is the cost of each building, (il) what is the size of each building, (iii) why will it be bought or leased, (iv) for what will it be used, (v) who will occupy it and

(vi) approximately how many persons will occupy the total space of each building? NW2729E

Reply

1 (a) No

(b) The Department is leasing three buildings.

(i)

(aa) 2008-09: The Department was accommodated in three buildings.

(bb) 2009-10: The Department was accommodated in three buildings.

(ii) 2010-11: The Department is currently accommodated in three buildings on 24 months lease rentals.

(aaa) Not applicable

(bbb) The square meters comprises of:

87 Hamilton Street Building: 8933m2

NOSA Building: 3770m2

Pencardia Building: 9000m2

(ccc) The building is leased to accommodate all staff members in accordance with an approved establishment.

(ddd) Office accommodation

(eee) Office accommodation for all personnel of the Department. .

(fff) 87 Hamilton Street Building: 283 staff members

Pencardia Building: 301

NOSA Building: 100

2) (a) 2011-12: The Department is currently accommodated in three buildings on 24 months lease rentals

(b) 2012-13: The Department provided DPW with new accommodation requirements and requested DPW to acquire consolidated accommodation in accordance with integrated needs assessments. The Department is waiting for the outcome of the costing of the construction of a new building to consolidate the need for three buildings as a permanent solution beyond the lease period.

(c) 2013-14: The Department will have no other option but to continue renting beyond the existing lease period, should the DPW fall to acquire consolidated accommodation beyond 2012-13.

(i) Waiting for the outcome from DPW on the costing.

(ii) 15044m2

(iii ) The Department is opting for the construction of a new building as an alternative to consolidate the need for the

three buildings as a permanent solution. Acquisition of consolidated office accommodation is a necessity and

very critical for enhancement of service delivery in the

entire department. DCoG is experiencing numerous

logistical problems as a result of being accommodated in

different buildings.

(iv) Office accommodation

(v) Officials for the Department of Cooperative Governance

and Traditional Affairs.

(vi) According to the establishment for the 2012-13 financial

year eight-hundred and twenty-five (825) will have to be

accommodated in the new building.

QUESTION 2202

23 OF 2010 August

Mr D C Ross (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether, in light of the recent problems experienced by Eskom in the Free State in recovering monies owed for services rendered to 54 municipalities, his department has formulated a policy to achieve sustainable solutions for these municipalities which will negate the necessity to terminate the supply of electricity to defaulting consumers and safeguard the interests of paying consumers; if not, why not; if so, what (a) measures have been included in the policy to compel consumers to pay for the electricity supplied by Eskom and (b) are the relevant details;

Whether this policy includes a provision which obliges Eskom to mitigate its losses when faced with the situation experienced in the Free State; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW2709E

Reply

Two of the major reasons behind the inability of many municipalities in the Free State to meet their obligations towards, among other service providers, ESKOM, have to do with (i) their inability to accurately project their cash flows and (ii) the challenges associated with collecting all billed operating revenue due to them. The Free State Provincial Treasury, the National Treasury and other major stakeholders are currently working to find a sustainable solution to these factors. It is also hoped that the various training interventions in financial management being currently offered by the National Treasury will, in the near future, begin to make a significant impact in as far as building financial management capacity in these municipalities.

In addition, municipalities in arrears have been encouraged to engage with Eskom to make arrears payment arrangement and to honour current account. Currently ESKOM is satisfied that the arrears will be paid from the equitable share allocations in November 2010. However a concern still exists with ESKOM on the ability of municipalities to settle it's monthly accounts. In the interim it was agreed that although ESKOM will not stop their disconnection process, the dates of cut-off notices will be postponed to allow municipalities the opportunity to settle arrear accounts from Equitable share allocations.

In the meantime, municipalities are encouraged to vigorously implement their respective credit control policies as a way of compelling consumers to pay for the electricity supplied to them by ESKOM. ESKOM too is encouraged to apply its own credit control policy to customers it directly supplies and to municipalities,

QUESTION NO: 2186

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 23 OF 20 August 2010

Mrs A T Lovemore (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) Whether all provinces have established disaster management centres in terms of section 29 of the Disaster Management Act, Act 57 of 2002; if not, (a) which provinces have not established such centres and (b) what action is being taken to ensure the establishment of such centres;

(2) whether all provinces have submitted disaster management plans to the National Centre in terms of section 38 of the Act; If not, (a) which provinces have not submitted plans in terms of the legislation and (b) what action is being taken to ensure that acceptable and appropriate disaster management plans are in place;

(3) whether all municipalities have established disaster management centres in terms of section 43 of the Act; if not, (a) which municipalities have not established such centres and (b) what action is being taken to ensure the establishment of such centres;

(4) whether all municipalities have submitted complete disaster management plans to the National Centre in terms of section 53 of the Act; if not, (a) which municipalities have not submitted complete disaster management plans and (b) what action is being taken to ensure that complete disaster management plans are in place;

(5) whether all provinces and municipalities have submitted annual reports to the National Centre in terms of section 36 and section 50 of the Act; if not, (a) which provinces and municipalities have not submitted annual reports and (b) what action has been taken to remedy the situation? NW2692E

Reply

(1) Not all provinces have established disaster management centres in accordance with section 29 of the Disaster Management Act, Act 57 of 2002.

(a) The Northern Cape is the only province that has not yet established a disaster management centre. The reason being financial and capacity constraints. Mpumalanga Province currently operates from the disaster management centre in Nelspruit The permanent centre is complete and should be furnished and- operational by the end of September 2010.

(b) The relevant details of the Provincial Disaster Management Centres that have been established are attached as follows:

(2) In terms .of section 43 of the Disaster Management Act, 2002 only Metropolitan and District Municipalities must establish a disaster management centre.

(a) The following municipalities have not yet established a disaster management centre:

Xhariep District Municipality, Free State

Sedibeng District Municipality, Gauteng

Metsweding District Municipality, Gauteng

Uthukela District Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal (Procurement process in progress).

Amajuba District Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal (Procurement process in progress).

Umkhanyakude District Municipality. KwaZulu-Natal (Procurement process in progress).

Sisonke District Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal (Procurement process in progress).

Vhembe District Municipality. Limpopo

Capricorn District Municipality, Limpopo

Greater Sekhukhune District Municipality, Limpopo

Gert Sibande District Municipality, Mpumalanga

Ehlanzeni District Municipality, Mpumalanga

John Taolo Gaetsewe District Municipality, Northern Cape

Namakwa District Municipality, Northern Cape

Naka Modiri Molema District Municipality

Cape Winelands District Municipality, Western Cape

Mothea District Municipality, Free State (Building has been identified)

Lejweleputswa District Municipality, Free State (Construction has commenced)

Thabo Mofutsanyane District Municipality, Free State

Fezile Dabi District Municipality. Free State (Construction is complete - require assistance with regard to the development of an information management system)

No information is available with regard to the following municipalities:

City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, Gauteng

Nkangala District Municipality, Mpumalanga

Capricorn District Municipality. Limpopo Province

Frances Baard District Municipality, Northern Cape

Pixley Ka Seme District Municipality, Northern Cape

(3) The Gauteng. Western Cape and Limpopo Provinces have submitted their disaster management plans to the national centre in accordance with section 38 of the Act.

(a) The following provinces have not yet submitted plans:

Province

Reasons

Eastern Cape

Still finalising the development of the Provincial

Disaster Management Policy Framework.

Free State

Draft Plan is complete and has been submitted to ExCo for adoption.

Kwa Zulu-Natal

Framework is being finalised for publication.

Plan still to be completed

Mpumalanga

,

A draft disaster management plan is available.

North West

Plan still to be completed.

Northern Cape

In process of appointing a Service Provider to

assist the PDMC to develop a plan.

(4) The following metropolitan and district municipalities have not submitted acceptable and appropriate disaster management plans to the national centre in accordance with section 53 of the Act:

Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality (The plan has been completed).

Cacadu District Municipality (The first draft plan has been developed).

Amathole District Municipality (The draft plan is in place).

Chris Hani District Municipality (The draft plan is in place).

Joe Gqabi District Municipality (Process has been started but short of funds).

OR Tambo District Municipality (In progress starting with risk assessment process).

Alfred Nzo District Municipality (A service provider has been appointed).

Xhariep District Municipality (Plan is still to be reviewed)

City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality

Sedibeng District Municipality

Metsweding District Municipality

Ethekwini Metropolity Municipality (Being finalised)

Ugu District Municipality (Available plan to be submitted to the NDMC)

Umgungundlovu District Municipality

Uthukela District Municipality

Umzinyathi Dj"strict Municipality

Amajuba District Municipality (New plan being prepared - previous draft has expired)

Zululand District Municipality' (Available plan to be submitted to the NDMC)

Umkhanyakude District Municipality (Available plan to be submitted to the NDMC)

Uthungulu District Municipality (Available plan to be submitted to the NDMC)

lIembe District Municipality (Available plan to be submitted to the NDMC)

Sisonke Distrlct Municipality (Available plan to be submitted to the NDMC)

Vhembe District Municipality (Available plan to be submitted to the NDMC)

Capricorn District Municipality

Waterbeg District Municipality (The reviewed Plan and Framework was submitted to the PDMC on 25 March 2010)

Greater Sekhukhune Municipality

Gert Sibande District Municipality

Nkangala District Municipality

Ehlanzeni District Municipality

John Taolo Gaetsewe District Municipality

Frances Baard District Municipality

Namakwa District Municipality

Pixley Ka Same District Municipality

Siyanda District Municipality

Bojanala Platinum District Municipality (The municipality does have a plan)

Naka Modiri Molema District Municipality (Leve/1 plan completed)

Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality (Leve/2 plan is complete) City of Cape Town (Plan completed - submitted to the Province)

West Coast District Municipality (Plan completed - submitted to the Province)

Cape Winelands District Municipality (PDMC supporting and guiding

QUESTION NO: 2185

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 23 OF 20 August 2010

Mr M H Steele (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) (a) How many municipal public accounts committees (MPACs) have been established to date, (b) in which municipalities and (c) what training has been provided for members of MPACs by his department or any other agencies;

(2) whether his department will monitor the effectiveness of these committees; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(3) whether he will make a statement on this matter? NW2691 E

Reply

The establishment of MPAC's varies from province to province; training is being provided by the provinces that have established MPAC's and the other provinces will provide training as MPAC's are established,

The following is the status quo of MPAC's per province:

1. Gauteng Province

In Gauteng all municipalities currently have MPAC's, 13 MPACs have been established. The Metsweding district are utilizing the shared services model for the MPAC, hence 13 and not 15.

2. North West Province

No Municipal Public Accounts Committee were established in any of the municipalities in the province, the province is planning to assist with the establishment of MPAC's and the rolling-out of training programmes, this process will be completed by the end of the current financial year.

3. Limpopo Province

In the Limpopo Province the MPAC's system is being piloted only in the Sekhukhune District municipality and the other municipalities will follow during the financial year.

4. Nothern Cape

No MPAC's have been established in the province, there are Oversight Committees functioning in all municipalities with regards to annual reports.

Due to the demographics of the Province it will not be effective to have MPAC's at individual municipalities as the average number of councilor in a municipality is six.

The Province has decided to apply the shared services approach to the MPAC and therefore five MPAC committees will be formed in the five District Municipalities.

5, Eastern Cape Province

No municipality has established MPACs as yet however all the municipalities have oversight committees to deal with the annual reports.

6. Kwa-Zulu Natal Province

24 MPACs have been established in the Kwa-Zulu Natal Province in the

following municipalities:

Ethekwini

Ugu (DC 21)

Vulamehlo (KZ211)

Umdoni (KZ212)

Umzumbe (KZ213)

Richmond (KZ227)

uMtshezi (KZ234)

Endumeni (KZ241)

Nquthu (KZ242)

uMvoti (KZ245)

Newcastle (KZ252)

Emadlangeni (KZ253)

Jozini (KZ272)

The Big Five False Bay (KZ273)

uThungulu (DC28)

Mfolozi (Mbonambi) (KZ281)

uMhlathuze (KZ282)

uMlalazi (KZ284)

Ilembe (DC29)

Mandeni (KZ291)

KwaDukuza (KZ292)

Sisonke (DC43)

Kwa Sani (KZ5a2)

uBuhlebezwe (KZ5a5)

The remaining municipalities are being assisted to establish MPAC's, it is envisaged that this process will be completed by 31 March 2011.

7.Mpumalanga Province

The following 7 municipalities have established MPAC's in the province:

Nkomazi Municipality

Bushbuckridge Municipality

Victor khanye Municipality

Govan Mbeki Municipality

Albert Luthuli Municipality

Emalahleni Municipality

Gert Sibande District Municipality

The province is assisting the balance of municipalities to also establish MPAC's.

8. Western Cape Province

The following three municipalities have established MPAC's In the Western Cape province:

City of Cape Town;

Central Karoo OM; and

Swellendam LM

9. Free State Province

No MPAC's have been established in the Free State Province as yet, the Province has conducted a workshop whereby 24 of the 25 municipalities have signed a declaration to establish the MPAC's.

The provincial Public Account Committee is currently assisting municipalities in the establishment of MPAC's.

Yes the department is monitoring both the establishment and functionality of MPACS through the Operation Clean Audit Programme.

The provinces are required to include the MPAC's in their provincial Operation Clean Audit Action Plans which are monitored on a quarterly basis for progress. Within these plans Provinces are required to demonstrate details of the support being provided to municipalities in both establishment and training and timeframes.

A training programme is also being planned in partnership with SALGA to include MPAC training as part of the new Councillors induction process after the Local government elections in 2011.

QUESTION NO: 2183

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 23 OF 20 August 2010

Mr T 0 Lee (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether any funds have been allocated to a certain trust (Bethelsdorp Development Trust) since 1 January 2000; if so, (a) what amount in each year and (b) for what reasons in each case?

NW2689E

Reply

This department does not have any funds allocated to any Trust Account

FOR WRITTEN REPLY QUESTION NO: 2175

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 23 OF 20 August 2010

Mr. N Singh (IFP) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) (a) How many municipalities are without permanent (a) municipal

managers and (b) financial officers and (b) what are the reasons for these municipalities not having permanent senior staff;

(2) whether he will take any steps to ensure that every municipality has qualified, permanent senior managers; if not, why not; if so, what steps? NW2681 E

Reply

(1)(a)Attached is a list of municipalities are without permanent (a) municipal managers and (b) financial officers

1 (b) Section 57(6)(a) of the Municipal Systems Act,2000 stipulates

that the employment contract for a municipal manager must be for a fixed term of contract not exceeding a period ending one year after the election of the next council of the municipality.

Section 57(7) stipulates that a municipality may extend the application of subsection (6) to any manager directly accountable to the municipal manager. Therefore, there are no senior staffs appointed on a permanent basis.

The Honourable Member will note that information from Free State, Mpumalanga and Kwa Zulu Natal province is incomplete. The outstanding information will be made available to the Honourable Member as soon as it is available.

2 The Ministry for Cooperative Governance and Traditional affairs has tabled the Local Government: Municipal Systems Amendment Bill to Parliament.

The Act currently does not prescribe minimum requirements for the appointment of municipal managers and senior managers. The insertion of section 54A and the amendment of section 56 oblige municipalities to only appoint people with appropriate "skills, expertise, competencies and qualifications" as municipal managers or acting municipal managers. The employment contracts of managers who do not meet these requirements, shall be null and void and the MEC is obliged to take appropriate steps to enforce compliance with these requirements if a person has been appointed in contravention of the new legislation. Any councilor voting in favour of the appointment of a municipal manager, knowing that he or she does not meet the requirements of the legislation, may be held personally liable for any fruitless and wasteful expenditure.

FOR WRITTEN REPLY QUESTION NO: 2158

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 21 OF 13 August 2010

Mr N Singh (IFP) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether any plans are in place to finance the maintenance of the new stadia where municipalities are unable to bear the costs; if not, why not; if so, what plans? NW2607E

Reply

No. There are no plans by national government to finance the maintenance of the new stadia where municipalities are unable to bear such costs.

In August 2006, the Host Cities of the 2010 FIFA World Cup developed business plans with financial forecasts to ensure financial sustainability of the venues once the competition was over. The national government set up a conditional grant to assist the

municipalities with capital finance for the construction of the new stadiums.

It should be also noted that six of the ten stadia that hosted the 2010 FIFA World Cup are owned by municipalities, and as such, it is the responsibility of these municipalities to budget for the long term maintenance of their respective stadiums and to implement a business model to ensure the financial sustainability of those venues. As part of their plans, the municipalities have decided to appoint independent authorities to ensure the commercial viability of these stadia.

The Royal Bafokeng Stadium (in the Rustenburg Local Municipality), the Ellis Park Stadium (in the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality), the Free State Stadium (in the Mangaung Local Municipality), and the Loftus Versfeld Stadium (in the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality) are privately owned.

The other six stadia are owned by the following municipalities:

NAME OF STADIUM

NAME OF MUNICIPALITY

FNB Stadium (known as Soccer City during the 2010 FIFA World Cup)

City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality

Moses Mabhida Stadium

Ethekwini Metropolitan Municipality

Cape Town Stadium

City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality

Mbombela Stadium

Mbombela Local Municipality

Peter Mokaba Stadium

Polokwane Local Municipality

Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium

Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality

QUESTION NO: 2118

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 21 OF 13 August 2010

Mrs A T Lovermore (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether, with regard to interaction between his department's advocate (name furnished) and the Ndlambe community, he has taken any steps to improve service delivery by the Ndlambe municipality; if not, (a) why not and (b) when will steps be taken; if so, (i) what steps and (ii) what are the relevant details?NW2558E

Reply

NDLAMBE MUNICIPALITY

PORT ALFRED

Phone: (046) 624 1140

Causeway

PO Box 13

Port Alfred

6170

Fax: (046) 6242669

[email protected]

http://www.ndlambe.co.za

Please address all correspondence to The Municipal Manager.

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Our Ref: - 8469 17 August 2010

Your Ref: Adv Gaum

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Enquiries: Mr R Dumezweni

DEPARTMENT OF COOPERATIVE GOVERNANCE AND TRADITIONAL AFFAIRS

Private Bag X 804

PRETORIA

000

FOR ATTENTION: ADV GAUM

Dear Sir,

PROGRESS REPORT AND SUPPORT PROVIDED BY BOTH PROVINCE AND NATIONAL

The MEC- Local government and Traditional Affairs - Eastern Cape was one of the instrumental people who assisted in securing the R 31 million grant for Water supply in Ndlambe Municipality. He arranged the meeting with DWAF-DG in Port Elizabeth and immediately three weeks later the grant was accessed. Again DWAF is giving the Municipality R 9 million for water harvesting.

The National and Provincial Treasury arranged a meeting with NAG, NRF and the Municipality to discuss the budget issues after they received a complaint/petition from NAG. Minutes of the meeting are appended.

The progress in general so far as other matter raised by NAG are addressed. Ms Mali issue on Johannesburg trip has been resolved. The Internal Auditor investigated the matter and the travel agency admitted that it was at fault and it has paid the money. Ms Mali is innocent in this regard.

The PWC report was submitted to council on 7 July 2010 and an ad hoc committee consisting of three (3) ANC councillors and one DA councillor have submitted their final report to council on 28 July 2010. This matter is also resolved or completed.

Your department is now facilitating a meeting with NAG to unlock the negotiations in the week of 23-27 August 2010 and the council is willing to faithfully participate in the session. Mr Christo Nel has arranged with the Mayor already to facilitate a workshop to unlock the negotiations between two parties.

The Municipal Manager and his management are going to submit a turnaround service delivery plan to council 011 the 31 August 2010 where it is changing the strategic and operational way of doing things especially on those matters that NAG and Imbizo's have raised, This is going to involve everybody in the staff component or hierarchy.

A proper declaration of interest form has been formulated and endorsed by council for both officials and councillors. This has been given to all councillors to fill in. This seeks to respond to the concern of NAG on officials/ councillors having businesses with the municipality.

The Chief Directorate: Rural Disaster Mitigation Services within the Department of Rural development and Land Reform is busy facilitating a meeting with the office of the Municipal Manager in response to the letter that was written to the Minister to Declare Ndlambe as Disaster area. This meeting should take place on the 9 September 2010.

Any further enquiries could be forwarded to my office.

Yours faithfully

R DUMEZWENI

MUNICI AL MANAGER

FOR WRITTEN REPLY QUESTION NO: 2126

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 21 OF 13 August 2010

Mr P J C Pretorius (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether he intends introducing changes to the current system of local government particularly with regard to district municipalities; if not, what is the position in this regard, if so, what are the relevant details? NW2566E

Reply

The Department is in the process of a Policy Review on Provincial and Local Government. As yet, the government has not taken any decision on any changes of the current system of local government, including the status of the district municipalities.

FOR WRITTEN REPLY QUESTION NO: 2177

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 23 OF 20 August 2010

Mr R N Cebekhulu (IFP) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

What steps will he take or measures will he put in place to ensure that future appointees to the post of municipal manager meet the prescribed requirements of the job? NW2683E

Reply

The Ministry for Cooperative Governance and Traditional affairs has tabled the Local Government: Municipal Systems Amendment Bill to Parliament.

The Act currently does not prescribe minimum requirements for the appointment of municipal managers and senior managers. The insertion of section 54A and the amendment of section 56 oblige municipalities to only appoint people with appropriate "skills, expertise, competencies and qualifications" as municipal managers or acting municipal managers. The employment contracts of managers who do not meet these requirements, shall be null and void and the MEC is obliged to take appropriate steps to enforce compliance with these requirements if a person has been appointed in contravention of the new legislation, Any councilor voting in favour of the appointment of a municipal manager, knowing that he or she does not meet the requirements of the legislation, may be held personally liable for any fruitless and wasteful expenditure.

QUESTION NO: 2113

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 21 OF 13 August 2010

Mrs M Wenger (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether, with reference to the disclaimer in the Auditor-General's report of 19 March 2010 that R300 million has not been accounted for in the Kungwini municipality, an investigation has been conducted to establish why the amount was unaccounted for; if not, why not; if so, (a) for what purpose was this money utilised, (b) when will the report be made available to the pubJic and (c) what are the further relevant details of the report? NW2552E

Reply

The finding on the Auditor General's report pertained to Non disclosure of contingent liability of R300 000 000 in the 2008/09 AFS (Annual Financial Statements). The item was omitted in error and will be disclosed in 2009/10 AFS as a correction of error in previous financial year.

FOR WRITTEN REPLY QUESTION NO: 2093

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 19 OF 06 Aug 2010

Mr J J Mc Gluwa (ID) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) Whether, with reference to a certain court case (details furnished), any action has been taken against the municipal manager and the council that approved the sale of the 27 erven; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(2) (a) what (i) was the total legal cost of the said court case and (Ii) attempts have been made to recover the legal costs from a certain company (name furnished) since the judgement has been granted and (b) who are the current owners of the 27 erven?

NW2497E

Reply

(1) The case was only concluded in May 2010, thereafter Council went on recess. In essence the matter has not been submitted to Council as yet.

(2)(a) (i) R 381 845.00 (ii) The decision wif1 be a prerogative of the Council once a full report has been tabled. (b) The total number of the plots advertised was 36 (thirty six). Of the 36 only 5 (five) has been sold. Erf 2565:ABA Group Contract Management CC

Erf 5817: Tshongwana Yoliswa Edith

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Erf 5819: Tshongwana Yoliswa Edith

Erf 5826: Tshongwana Yoliswa Edith

FOR WRITTEN REPLY QUESTION NO: 2032

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 17 OF 06 Aug 2010

Ms D Carter (Cope) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether all municipalities have implemented Schedule 1 of the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act, Act 117 of 1998, to allow for municipal demarcation boards to delimit wards for all qualifying municipalities in preparation for the 2011 local government elections; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW2371 E

Reply

The Municipal Demarcation Board ("the Board") is the only authority responsible to implement Schedule 1 of the Local Government Municipal Structures Act, 1998 (Act No. 117 of 1998) to delimit wards after consultation with the Independent Electoral Commission (lEG), not municipalities.

However, the Board works with all the municipalities, South African Local Government Association (SALGA), Provinces and IEC and the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs as primary stakeholders, and communities to delimit wards.

Currently the process is at an advanced stage and the Board intends to hand over final delimited wards to the IEC by 1 September 2010.

QUESTION NO: 1996

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 18 OF 30 July 2010

Mr W P Doman (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

(1) In each province, (a) how many community development workers have been appointed by 30 March 2010 and (b) who (i) was responsible for their appointment, (ii) is responsible for their remuneration and (iii) do they report to;

(2) Whether these workers form part of the civil service; if not, why not; [f so, what are the relevant details? NW2393E

Reply

1 (a) Number of CDWs

CDWs Per Province

598

There are currently 3327 CDWs deployed. To date, Eastern Cape has the highest number of CDWs employed per province while Western Cape has the lowest number of CDWs enrolled in the Programme. Initially 400 learners were trained on the learnership in Western Cape, but only 200 CDWs were recruited and l or employed due to budget constraints.

Appointment of CDWs

To begin to qualify for recruitment and selection, candidates should:

  • Live in the community in which they wish to serve
  • Be acceptable to and trusted by members of the community
  • Show potential to be excellent communicators
  • Be knowledgeable about the community
  • Be known to be reliable and responsible, having voluntary or other community-

based experience in that community

  • Be respectful of the community
  • Have the best interests of the people in that community at heart
  • Be able to work effectively with the local political structures
  • Have a minimum of NQF level 4 or grade 11 (standard nine) or equivalent to access the learnership. (Provinces are reviewing additional educational requirements.)

Prospective CDW candidates are selected after being interviewed by their ward committees. As the selection panelists, ward committees are required to identify equal numbers of men and

women and are encouraged to include people with disabilities.

1 (b) (i and ii) The provincial governments (Department of Cooperative governance and traditional affairs). (iii) They report to coordinators employed at regional and district level.

2. CDWs are public servants and they are governed by the Public Service Act. A CDW regulations been developed and will be tabled in November 2010.

QUESTION NO: 1995

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 18 OF 30 July 2010

Mr W P Doman (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether his department's clean audit campaign has made provision to assist the municipalities who failed to submit their accounts in the 2008-09 financial year, to submit their accounts timeously for the 2009-10 financial year; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW2392E

Reply

Yes, through the Operation Clean Audit programme all the municipalities who did

not submit including those who received disclaimers and adverse opinion are

receiving support in order to submit credible annual financial statements (AFS) on the 31st August 2010.

The approach differs per province and per the requirements of the individual

municipality; in most cases it includes the following:

  1. Where the root cause for late submission was a lack of adequate skills and knowledge the municipality is assisted to appoint key financial management personnel including the CFO.
  2. In some instances where adequate skills and knowledge are an issue but there are no resources, a person is either seconded from the province or an external resource is appointed.
  3. The partnership between CoGTA and DBSA on Operation Clean Audit has been used to co-ordinate the resources from the DBSA's Siyenza Manje project to be directly linked to those municipalities identified as requiring maximum support for credible AFS submission and improved audit opinions.
  4. The Operation Clean Audit Provincial Co-ordinating Committee is a forum in each province where all role players, ie Provincial Treasury, Provincial CoGTA, SALGA, DBSA, Office of the Premier and Office of the Auditor General (as support but maintaining their independence) get together and strategise on the municipalities that require support and the approach required for each considering the individual circumstances and an action plan is agreed to.
    • This approach makes it possible for the resources to be combined and focused on areas of critical need and thus maximise impact whilst eliminating the risk of duplication.
  • Operation Clean Audit nationally monitors the functionality of these forums, the performance on the action plans and the partnerships; whenever necessary they intervene.
  • The individual municipalities as role players are also invited to some of these forums to give progress reports and report on any challenges experienced.

QUESTION NO: 1930

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 17 OF 26 July 2010

Mrs M Wenger (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether Members of the Executive Council of each province have complied with section 47 of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act, Act 32 of 2000, in the (a) 2001-02, (b) 2002-03, (c) 2003-04, (d) 2004-05, (e) 2005-06, (f) 2006-07, (g) 2007 -08, (h) 2008-09 and (i) 2009-10 financial years; if not, (i) why not, (ii) which provinces have failed to comply in each of the respective financial years and (iii) what action has been taken in this regard? NW2318E

Reply

(a-d) There were no Section 47 reports submitted to the former Department of Provincial and Local Government during this period. The Department took a step to strengthen the implementation of Performance Management Systems through provision of technical support.

(e) In the 2005/06 financial year, all provinces submitted their consolidated Section 47 reports. However, only seven (7) were tabled at the provincial legislatures. The provinces that did not table their report at the legislature were Mpumalanga and Eastern Cape.

(f) The Department of Cooperative Governance (previously the dplg), in 2007/08 financial year provided technical support with regards to Performance Management Systems implementation (PMS) to Eastern Cape, Free State, KwaZulu Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and Northern Cape with the intention of improving the submission and quality of the Section 46 municipal reports thereby improving the quality of the Section 47 reports and consequently the Minister's Section 48 report.

(g) In 2006/07 seven (7) provinces submitted and tabled their reports to their provincial legislatures. Eastern Cape and Free State only submitted their reports to the Minister for Cooperative Governance and have not tabled their reports to their provincial legislature.

(h) In 2007/08, only seven (7) provinces submitted and tabled their reports to provincial legislatures. Free State province has only submitted their report to the Minister for Cooperative Governance without tabling at the legislature.

(i) Mpumalanga is the only province that has not submitted their 2007/08 report and they have stated capacity constraints as the reason for non­compliance.

  1. In the 2005/06 financial year details of the submission to provincial legislature and gazzetting were not provided.
  2. In the 2006/07 financial year, Northern Cape was the only province to submit their report to the NCOP and gazette it. North West also submitted their report to the NCOP. In the 2007/08 financial year, only three (3) provinces - Eastern Cape, North West and Western Cape submitted their reports to their NCOP and gazetted. Reasons for non-compliance by other provinces were not provided.

FOR WRITTEN REPLY QUESTION NO: 1867

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 04 OF 04 June 2010

Dr L L Bosman (DA) to ask the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Whether he will introduce amendments to the Disaster Management Act, Act 57 of 2002, to include measures to counteract financial losses suffered as a result of the recent disastrous Transnet strike; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW2160E

Reply

No, Section 2(1)(b) of the Disaster Management Act, 2002 (Act No, 57 of 2002), clearly states that the Act does not apply to an occurrence falling within the definition of "disaster" in Section 1 of the said Act - "to the extent that that occurrence can be dealt with effectively in terms of other national legislation", such as labour law legislation-

"(i) aimed at reducing the risk, and addressing the consequences, of occurrences of that nature".

It would therefore not be appropriate to amend the Disaster Management Act for this purpose.